The United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed “deep sorrow” on the death of a Delhi female student, who was gang raped in a moving bus earlier this month in the Indian capital New Delhi, saying that “violence against women must never be accepted.”
“The UN secretary general expresses deep sorrow over the death of the 23-year-old Delhi student who was gang-raped by six men in a moving bus in New Delhi on December 16,” said a statement issued here on Saturday night by Ban’s spokesman.
“The secretary general offers his sincerest condolences to her parents, family and friends, and utterly condemns this brutal crime,” it further stated.
The statement also said, “Violence against women must never be accepted, never excused, never tolerated. Every girl and woman has the right to be respected, valued and protected.”
Meanwhile, the Indian victim of gang rape, identified as Nirbhaya by the local media, died at a private hospital in Singapore early on Saturday, hospital sources said.
Mount Elizabeth Hospital Chief Executive Officer Kelvin Loh said the patient died at the hospital at 4:45 am (local time) on Saturday after suffering from severe organ failure. In an apparent haste to calm down public anger over the death of the medical student, Indian police on Saturday invoked murder charges against the six men involved in the gang-rape.
In addition to this, Dharmendra Kumar, special commissioner of police (law and order), told the media, “We hope to file the charge sheet by January 3, 2013 and will add Section 302 of IPC to the case, which is the penal section for murder.”
“The secretary general also encourages the government of India to strengthen critical services for rape victims,” the UN statement further said. “UN Women and other parts of the UN stand ready to support such reform efforts with technical expertise and other support as required.”
Meanwhile, in regard to Indian government’s decision to devise new anti-rape laws, the statement said, “The secretary general welcomes the efforts of the government of India to take urgent action and calls for further steps and reforms to deter such crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice.” Also, UN Women, the main UN body dedicated to the protection of rights of women and girls, mourned the death of the Indian gang rape victim. “UN Women joins the UN secretary general in mourning the death of a 23-year-old student who was gang raped by six men earlier this month in New Delhi, India,” the UN agency said on its official website. “UN Women and other parts of the UN stand ready to support reform efforts to deter such crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
